Tag Archives | investment

We wanted to let everyone know about a project that a friend and business associate of ours is doing in Mendoza, Argentina. After building two condo-hotel properties in Buenos Aires, Palermo Place and Palermo Tower, he has turned his attention to Mendoza where he is building his next property – Auberge du Vin.

There are currently 8 units remaining in pre-sale out of the original 28. This is an excellent opportunity to invest in a hard asset with the opportunity for a great rate of return. Plus, you get the opportunity to use your unit whenever you want and membership in the Tupungato Winelands Golf and Polo Clubs, Burco Club and the Tupungato Winelands Wine Club. In addition, you’ll have common ownership of the vineyard with the other owners which will give you an annual allocation of wine which you can private label as your own.

Personally, we’ve been very happy with the Palermo Place Hotel and have taken the opportunity to be a part of this new project as well. If you’d like more details, you can check out this overview of the project or send them an email.

A good friend of mine has just launched his latest Buenos Aires condominium hotel development project – 4955 Charcas.

After selling out his first development project, 5865 Nicaragua, entirely in pre-sale, he has focused his attention on developing his next set of luxury condominium-hotel apartment units in Buenos Aires. These new luxury studios in Palermo Hollywood are 43 and 45 square meters in size, feature complete kitchens, high-end finish out and large American-style bathrooms. The entire building will be of a much higher construction quality than typically found in Argentina.

In addition to the high-quality construction, his project is unique in Buenos Aires in many other ways. First, these units are great investments. You can choose to have his company manage and rent the units, rent them yourself or through another company, or use the unit personally. There are also no restrictions on the time that you can personally use the unit; unlike many other similar projects. As an investment, the rate of return at only 30% occupancy could be almost 10% and at 70% occupancy you could see a 25% return. (You can get more information on their FAQ page.)

These units are also sold for a fixed-price, meaning the price you get up front is the final price. This is extremely rare in Argentina as most developers charge a lower price per square meter initially, but then have price increases built into the contract. You will then see two to three price increases before the project is complete, which means your final price is significantly higher than the initial price. Also, buying in pre-sale means that you only pay 40% down and then can make 15 interest-free payments.

Finally, they take care of all the logistics of getting the money into Argentina as well as handling taxes, getting tax id numbers, etc. Most Argentine developers require a full cash payment and it’s up to you to figure out how to get the money into the country, which is a costly and time-consuming procedure. With his business, you can pay via check or wire transfer to their US corporate account. Since everything is done legally and “en blanco” you’ll never have any problems when you go to sell.

I can also personally vouch for their integrity and honesty. I’ve worked with them in the past, and they’ve been entirely forthcoming about every aspect of the buying and construction process. This has been in stark contrast to much of the real estate buying process I have experienced here where I saw first-hand how additional fees and assessments could be added on.